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Posts Tagged ‘Philippines’

World War II History for February 19

19 Feb

Today in WWII History

World War II History for February 19

Audio Clip: 02.18.1943 Soong Mei-Ling Appeals to Congress to Aid Chinese Nationalists

 WWII History - 02.18.1943 Soong Mei-Ling Appeals to Congress to Aid Chinese Nationalists [3:42m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

02.19.1932 – The Sino-Japanese dispute was referred to the Assembly by the League of Nations Council.

02.19.1937 – An attempt was made in Addis Ababa to assassinate the Italian viceroy of Ethiopia, General Rodolfo Graziani. Though he was only wounded, the Italians launched large scale reprisals vowing to keep the Ethiopians in line.

02.19.1938 – The British Cabinet rejects Foreign Secretary Eden’s proposal to have Italian troops withdraw from Spain. Their hope was misplaced, believing that Italy would check any further advances by Germany (they had already occupied Austria).

02.19.1938 – Nazis were permitted to join the ruling party of Austria, the Fatherland Front.

02.19.1939 – A trade agreement was signed between the Soviet Union and Poland in an attempt to strengthen Poland as a buffer against Germany.

02.19.1940 – Ambassador Hull extends the US moral embargo to the Soviet Union.

02.19.1941 – The 8th Australian Division lands in Singapore.

02.19.1942 – Executive Order 9066 is signed by President Roosevelt, authorizing the transfer of more than 100,000 Japanese-Americans living in coastal Pacific areas to concentration camps in various inland states (and including inland areas of California). The interned Japanese-Americans lose an estimated 400 million dollars in property, as their homes and possessions are taken from them.

02.19.1942 – Japanese air raids on Darwin, Australia. Considered the “Pearl Harbor of Australia”, they largest attacks ever mounted by a foreign power against Australia. The raids were the first of almost 100 air raids against Australia during 1942-43.

02.19.1942 – Battle of Badoeng Strait begins; ABDA force attacks retiring Japanese Bali occupation force with 1 Dutch DD sunk, 2 CL and 1 DD damaged.

02.19.1942 – Mandalay came under aerial attack for the first time. Defending forces are ordered back from the Bilin River.

02.19.1942 – Japanese troops landed on the Portuguese island of Timor in the East Indies. Tokyo says the action is taken in self-defense and that its forces would withdraw when the area was secure. The neutral Portuguese accept the occupation.

02.19.1942 – Canada’s Parliament vote to begin military conscription.

02.19.1942 – The Supreme Court of Vichy France begin trials in Riom to establish responsibility for the defeat in 1940.

02.19.1943 – Allied defenses in Tunisia are restructured in the face of a deteriorating position. The Axis forces begin frontal assaults on American positions in the Kasserine Pass.

02.19.1943 – German Army Group South opens a counteroffensive toward Kharkov and Belgorod.

02.19.1944 – US forces land on Engebi Island, Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

02.19.1945 – Units of the US 8th Div begin encircling German troops trapped within the Siegfried Line.

02.19.1945 – Himmler makes his first peace overtures to Swedish Count Folke Bernadotte of the Red Cross.

02.19.1945 US troops land on Samar and Capul Islands in the Philippines.

02.19.1945 (0905 hrs) – The first of 30,000 US Marines land on Iwo Jima. /via World War II Database

 
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Posted in African Theater, Asian Theater, Country - Germany, Country - Japan, Country - USA, Europe Theater, Facts, Media, North America, Pacific Theater, Podcast, Today

 

Bittersweet Reunion Pt 1 of 2

25 Jun

Bittersweet Reunion, Part 1 of 2

Wainwright and MacArthur
Wainwright and MacArthur, date unknown

“Drained of the confidence he had always shown”, journalist Clark Lee of the Associated Press noted when he saw Douglas MacArthur in March of 1942. Lee had no idea why, for the reason for MacArthur’s sadness was classified: he had just been ordered to evacuate the Philippine Islands. He was given the impression that a significant Allied force would soon very be gathered in Australia, to be placed under his command for a return to the Philippines. He was evacuated during the night of 11 March 1942, and made an emotional farewell to his right hand man and friend Jonathan Wainwright.

“Goodbye, Jonathan,” the general said, the choice of words reflecting his guilt for leaving his friend behind, for he rarely addresses anyone, especially not comrades in the Army, by the first name. “When I get back, if you’re still on Bataan, I’ll make you a lieutenant general”, he promised, perhaps hoping to lighten up the mood.

“I’ll be Bataan if I’m alive”, responded Wainwright, dutifully, ignoring the promise of promotion.

After MacArthur’s evacuation, the self-titled “battling bastards of Bataan” fought the defensive campaign on their own, completely cut-off from the outside. “No papa, no mama, no Uncle Sam”, they joked bitterly. These “bastards” fought until the first week of May, 1942. They were defeated militarily as well as spiritually. On 6 May, Wainwright formally surrendered to the Japanese.

As the Japanese escorted Wainwright to a prisoners of war camp, he wondered if his defeat was regarded with shame back home.

This two-part guest blog is written by C. Peter Chen. He is the Founder and Managing Editor of the World War II Database, and is also a staff member at the Imperial Japanese Navy Page.

 
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Posted in Asian Theater, Facts, Other, Pacific Theater, Sea

 

World War II History for May 6

06 May

Today in WWII History

Audio Clip: CBC Reports Victory in Tunis 07-May-1943

 World War II History - CBC Reports Victory in Tunis - 07-May-1943 [1:28m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

World War II History for May 6

6 May 1941 - Joseph Stalin assumed the Soviet premiership.

6 May 1941 - Bob Hope gave his first USO show at California’s March Field.

6 May 1942 - During World War II, the Japanese seized control of the Philippines. About 15,000 Americans and Filipinos on Corregidor surrendered to the Japanese.

6 May 1945 - Axis Sally made her final propaganda broadcast to Allied troops.

 
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World War II History for March 11

11 Mar

Today in WWII History

World War II History for March 11

Audio Clips: Today we bring you an audio broadcast from March 1945… a MBS broadcast from a battleship shooting down an enemy plane.

 WWarII History Podcast - Battleship Destroys Plane - 1945-03-03 [0:46m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

11 Mar 1935 - The German Air Force became an official organ of the Reich.

11 Mar 1941 - U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the Lend-Lease Act, which authorized the act of providing war supplies to the Allies.

11 Mar 1942 - General Douglas MacArthur left Bataan for Australia. He vowed, “I shall return.”

The Philippines had been part of the American commonwealth since Spain ceded it at the close of the Spanish-American War. When the Japanese invaded China in 1937 and signed the Tripartite Pact with fascist nations Germany and Italy in 1940, the United States responded by, among other things, strengthening the defense of the Philippines. General MacArthur was called out of retirement and took command of 10,000 American Army troops, 12,000 Filipino enlisted men who fought as part of the U.S. Army, and 100,000 Filipino army soldiers, who were poorly-trained and -prepared. MacArthur radically overestimated his strength and underestimated that of Japan’s. The Rainbow War Plan, a defensive strategy for U.S. interests in the Pacific drawn up and refined by the War Department, required that MacArthur withdraw his troops into the mountains of the Bataan Peninsula and await better-trained and equipped American reinforcements. Instead, MacArthur decided to take the Japanese head on-and never recovered.

The day of the Pearl Harbor bombing also saw the Japanese destruction of almost half of the American aircraft based in the Philippines. Amphibious landings of Japanese troops along the Luzon coast followed. By late December, MacArthur had to pull his forces back defensively to the Bataan Peninsula-the original strategy belatedly pursued. By January 2, 1942, the Philippine capital, Manila, fell to the Japanese. President Roosevelt had to admit to himself (if not to the American people, who believed the Americans were winning the battle with the Japanese in the Philippines), that the prospects for the American forces were not good–and that he could not afford to have General MacArthur fall captive to the Japanese. A message arrived at Corregidor on February 20, ordering MacArthur to leave immediately for Mindanao, then on to Melbourne, Australia, where he was to assume command of all United States troops. MacArthur balked; he was fully prepared to fight alongside his men to the death, if necessary. MacArthur finally obeyed the president’s order on March 11.[1]

[1] “MacArthur leaves the Philippines,” The History Channel website, http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=6739 (accessed Mar 11, 2009).

 
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World War II History for February 22

22 Feb

Today in WWII History

World War II History for February 22

22 Feb 1942 - U.S. President Roosevelt sent orders for General Douglas MacArthur to get out of the Philippines.

The Philippines had been part of the American commonwealth since it was ceded by Spain at the close of the Spanish-American War. When the Japanese invaded China in 1937 and signed the Tripartite Pact with fascist nations Germany and Italy in 1940, the United States responded by, among other things, strengthening the defense of the Philippines. General MacArthur was called out of retirement to command 10,000 American Army troops, 12,000 Filipino enlisted men who fought as part of the U.S. Army, and 100,000 Filipino army soldiers, who were poorly trained and ill prepared. MacArthur radically overestimated his troops’ strength and underestimated Japan’s determination. The Rainbow War Plan, a defensive strategy for U.S. interests in the Pacific that was drawn up in the late 1930s and later refined by the War Department, required that MacArthur withdraw his troops into the mountains of the Bataan Peninsula and await better-trained and -equipped American reinforcements. Instead, MacArthur decided to take the Japanese head on–and he never recovered.

On the day of the Pearl Harbor bombing, the Japanese destroyed almost half of the American aircraft based in the Philippines. Amphibious landings of Japanese troops along the Luzon coast followed. By late December, MacArthur had to pull his forces back defensively to the Bataan Peninsula–the original strategy belatedly pursued. By January 2, 1942, the Philippine capital of Manila fell to the Japanese. President Roosevelt had to admit to himself (if not to the American people, who believed the Americans were winning the battle with the Japanese in the Philippines), that the prospects for the American forces were not good–and that he could not afford to have General MacArthur fall captive to the Japanese. A message arrived at Corregidor on February 20, ordering MacArthur to leave immediately for Mindanao, then on to Melbourne, Australia, where “You will assume command of all United States troops.” MacArthur at first balked; he was fully prepared to fight alongside his men to the death if necessary. MacArthur finally obeyed the president’s order in March.[1]

[1] “President Roosevelt to MacArthur: Get out of the Philippines,” The History Channel website, http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=6720 (accessed Feb 22, 2009).

 
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World War II History for February 16

16 Feb

Today in WWI History

World War II History for February 16

16 Feb 1945 - During World War II, U.S. troops landed on the island of Corregidor in the Philippines.

16 Feb 1945 - Bataan recaptured

On this day, the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines is occupied by American troops, almost three years after the devastating and infamous Bataan Death March.

On April 3, 1942, the Japanese infantry staged a major offensive against Allied troops in Bataan, the peninsula guarding Manila Bay of the Philippine Islands. The invasion of the Japanese 14th Army, led by Gen. Masaharu Homma, had already forced Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s troops from Manila, the Philippine capital, into Bataan. By March, after MacArthur had left for Australia on President Roosevelt’s orders and was replaced by Maj. Gen. Edward P. King Jr., the American Luzon Force and its Filipino allies were half-starved and suffering from malnutrition, malaria, beriberi, dysentery, and hookworm.

Homma, helped by reinforcements and an increase in artillery and aircraft activity, took advantage of the U.S. and Filipinos’ weakened condition to launch another major offensive, which resulted in Admiral King’s surrender on April 9. The largest contingent of U.S. soldiers ever to surrender was taken captive by the Japanese. The prisoners, both Filipino and American, were at once led 55 miles from Mariveles, on the southern end of the Bataan Peninsula, to San Fernando. The torturous journey became known as the “Bataan Death March.” At least 600 Americans and 5,000 Filipinos died because of the extreme brutality of their captors, who starved, beat, kicked, and bayoneted those too weak to walk. Survivors were taken by rail from San Fernando to prisoner of war camps, where another 16,000 Filipinos and at least 1,000 Americans died from disease, mistreatment, and starvation.

America avenged its defeat in the Philippines generally, and Bataan specifically, with the invasion of Leyte Island in October 1944. General MacArthur, who in 1942 had famously promised to return to the Philippines, made good on his word. With the help of the U.S. Navy, which succeeded in destroying the Japanese fleet and left Japanese garrisons on the Philippine Islands without reinforcements, the Army defeated adamantine Japanese resistance. In January 1945, MacArthur was given control of all American land forces in the Pacific. On January 9, 1945, U.S. forces sealed off the Bataan Peninsula in the north; on February 16, the 8th Army occupied the southern tip of Bataan, as MacArthur drew closer to Manila and the complete recapture of the Philippines.[1]

[1] “Bataan recaptured,” The History Channel website, http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=6714 (accessed Feb 16, 2009).

 
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Posted in Pacific Theater, Today

 

World War II History for December 15

15 Dec

Today in WW II History

World War II History for December 15

1944 - A single-engine plane carrying U.S. Army Major Glenn Miller disappeared in thick fog over the English Channel while en route to Paris. The true fate of the plane and its passengers has never been determined.

1944 - American forces invaded Mindoro Island in the Philippines.

1945 - MacArthur orders end of Shinto as Japanese state religion

On this day, General Douglas MacArthur, in his capacity as Supreme Commander of Allied Powers in the Pacific, brings an end to Shintoism as Japan’s established religion. The Shinto system included the belief that the emperor, in this case Hirohito, was divine.

On September 2, 1945 aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, MacArthur signed the instrument of Japanese surrender on behalf of the victorious Allies. Before the economic and political reforms the Allies devised for Japan’s future could be enacted, however, the country had to be demilitarized. Step one in the plan to reform Japan entailed the demobilization of Japan’s armed forces, and the return of all troops from abroad. Japan had had a long history of its foreign policy being dominated by the military, as evidenced by Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoye’s failed attempts to reform his government and being virtually pushed out of power by career army officer Hideki Tojo.

Step two was the dismantling of Shintoism as the Japanese national religion. Allied powers believed that serious democratic reforms, and a constitutional form of government, could not be put into place as long as the Japanese people looked to an emperor as their ultimate authority. Hirohito was forced to renounce his divine status, and his powers were severely limited–he was reduced to little more than a figurehead. And not merely religion, but even compulsory courses on ethics–the power to influence the Japanese population’s traditional religious and moral duties–were wrenched from state control as part of a larger decentralization of all power.

“MacArthur orders end of Shinto as Japanese state religion,” The History Channel website, http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=6644 (accessed Dec 15, 2008).

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World War II History for December 10

10 Dec

Today in WW II History

World War II History for December 10

1941 - Japan invaded the Philippines.

1941 - The Royal Naval battleships Prince of Wales and Repulse were sunk by Japanese aircraft in the Battle of Malaya.

 
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World War II History for October 20

20 Oct

Today in WW II History

World War II History for October 20

1942 - Pierre Laval told the French labor that they must serve in Germany.

1944 - Allied forces invaded the Philippines. U.S. General Douglas MacArthur landed on the island of Leyte fulfilling his promise to return to the area where he was forced to flee in 1942.

More than 100,000 American soldiers land on Leyte Island, in the Philippines, as preparation for the major invasion by Gen. Douglas MacArthur. The ensuing battles of Leyte Island proved among the bloodiest of the war in the Pacific and signaled the beginning of the end for the Japanese.

The Japanese had held the Philippines since May 1942, when the awful defeat of American forces led to General MacArthur’s departure and General Wainwright’s capture. MacArthur was back, as he promised, but his invasion of Luzon required a softening up of the enemy. Thus, the amphibious landing of the American forces at Leyte and the concomitant goal of destroying the Japanese fleet in the gulf was undertaken.

The Japanese anticipated the American landing by launching Operation Sho-Go, an attempt to divert the U.S. 3rd Fleet north and away from the fighting on the island. The Japanese fleet assembled was the largest ocean task force assembled during the war, including seven battleships, 11 heavy cruisers, and 19 destroyers. American submarines and aircraft carriers met the Japanese fleet and the Battle of Leyte Gulf began on October 23.

Meanwhile on Leyte Island, the American troops took on the Japanese garrison, which was composed of 80,000 soldiers. It took 67 days to subdue the island, with extraordinary acts of physical bravery and courage demonstrated on both sides. Even after the Americans had taken control of the island, Japanese soldiers who had been hidden away continued to emerge and fight on, preferring to die than surrender. All told, the Japanese lost more than 55,000 soldiers during the two months of battle and approximately another 25,000 in mopping up operations in early 1945. The U.S. forces lost about 3,500-compared with the Japanese loss of 80,000 total.

The sea battle of Leyte Gulf was the same story. The loss of ships and sailors was horrendous for both sides. The sinking of the American carrier Princeton resulted in the drowning deaths of 500 men. When the Japanese battleship Musashi was destroyed by a massive American aerial attack, more than 1,000 sailors died, including the captain who stood on his bridge and literally went down with his ship. Three days of sea battle saw the destruction of 36 Japanese warships-compared with America’s three. It also saw the introduction of the Japanese kamikaze-”divine wind”–suicide bombers. The St. Lo, an American aircraft carrier, was one of the first casualties, when one kamikaze pilot drove his plane straight into its flight deck.

More than 5,000 kamikaze pilots died in this gulf battle-taking down 34 ships. But when all was said and done, the Japanese had not been able to prevent the loss of their biggest and best warships, signaling the virtual end of the Japanese Imperial Fleet. The American victory on land and sea opened the door for General MacArthur’s invasion and the recapture of the Philippines.

1944 - During World War II, the Yugoslav cities of Belgrade and Dubrovnik were liberated.

 World War II History for October 20th [3:23m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (11622)
 
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World War II History for September 5

05 Sep

Today in WW II History

World War II History for September 5,

1934 - Adolf Hitler predicted that the Reich would last for 1,000 years.

1939 - The U.S. proclaimed its neutrality in World War II.

1939 - German troops cross the Vistula River in Poland.

1943 - U.S. forces seize more of New Guinea

On this day in 1943, Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s 503rd Parachute Regiment land and occupy Nazdab, just east of Lae, a port city in northeastern Papua New Guinea, situating them perfectly for future operations on the islands.

New Guinea had been occupied by the Japanese since March 1942. Raids by Allied forces early on were met with tremendous ferocity, and they were often beaten back by the Japanese occupiers. Much of the Allied response was led by forces from Australia, as they were most threatened by the presence of the Japanese in that sphere.

The tide began to turn in December 1942, as the Australians recaptured Buna-but despite numerical superiority, the Japanese continued to hang on, fighting to keep every square mile they had captured. Many Japanese committed suicide, swimming out to sea, rather than be taken prisoner. In January 1943, the Americans joined the Aussies in assaults on Sanananda, which resulted in huge losses for the Japanese–7,000 killed–and the first land defeat of the war. As Japanese reinforcements raced for the next Allied targets, Lae and Salamauam, in March, 137 American bombers destroyed the Japanese transport vessels, drowning 3,500 Japanese, as well as their much-needed fuel and spare parts.

On September 8, almost 2,000 American and Australian Airborne Division parachutists landed and seized Nazdab, which held a valuable airfield. The Allies quickly established a functioning airstrip and prepared to take the port city of Lae, one more step in MacArthur’s strategy to recapture New Guinea and the Solomons-and eventually go back for the Philippines.

1945 - Iva Toguri D’Aquino was arrested. D’Aquino was suspected of being the wartime radio propagandist “Tokyo Rose”. She served six years before being pardoned by U.S. President Ford.

 World War II History for September 5th [2:32m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (5126)

 
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